dream collages

One of the best things about where I live is the people. There are so many cool people, and a group of us meet once a month in a sacred women's circle. It nourishes our need for friendship, community and conversation. This month we were creative too!

hat workshop at the community sewing studio

We "hat" a great time at the workshop yesterday! Amy, Nadia and Sonja came to the community sewing studio and taught us about using the color wheel to choose colors. Then we followed the instructions on from Anna Kata. We used dress shirts, pants and t-shirts for their fabric and cut out circle for our hats. It seemed that stretchy fabric made the best hat band. Then we added some circle flowers and vintage buttons. They turned out great! Thanks girls, for fun day in the studio!

{this moment}

a moment from this week that I want to savor, smile and remember

inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama

feel free to leave a link to your moment in the comments.



have a wonderful holiday weekend with your families and friends!

recycled wool stocking class at grow benzie sewing studio

It was a fun afternoon of creativity! We worked on some wooly stockings and enjoyed hanging out together. All the babes stayed home with the papas. Wonderful!

community sewing center success! 35 tablecloths completed for big event!

We did it! In a few weeks time, a couple of dedicated volunteers took a big pile of cotton fabric and old tablecloths and made all these tablecloths for the big Ho-Down fundraising event, which was a huge success! Not only did we keep plastic from being used, we also saved $8/table in cloth rentals. Now we have great tablecloths to use and or rent for future events.

Using bandannas for our guide, we cut out 22" squares of everything, and combined them with a few larger pieces on each cloth. Then they were hemmed and pressed for the big event.

You can see how nice it is to sew in this space, with the big windows and door to a little patio.

Classes start this fall for basic sewing, and revamping kid's clothing from adult cast-offs. I'm thinking we'll have to try these simple skirts that Amanda described yesterday.

One of my crafty friends came by and organized our shelves for us. She is an interior designer with a great eye for organizing. She also helped me with the curtains. Thank you so much, Marcy!

Starting this fall, we are having a denim drive, so bring your old jeans! All jeans are welcome whether they are torn, tattered, stained, dark, light, colors, etc... You can see the flirty skirt that I love in action here, and a preview of the long wrap skirt which is quickly becoming my other favorite jean skirt.

Check out the new Community Sewing Studio!

For those of you who live in the TC area, here's a great new opportunity! A couple of sewists set up a cool place to sew in Benzie County. It's in the house next to Grow Benzie, on the lower level.

We have tables, chairs, sewing machines, a tall cutting table, shelves, thread, a variety of fabrics and clothing to recycle! Right now we are sewing patchwork tableclothes for a fundraising event with Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg and Song of the Lakes at Grow Benzie at the end of this month. If you are interested in helping out, let me know!

In the fall, we plan to have classes and open studio sewing times available. You can catch me at the Great Lakes Bioneers Conference at NMC in October, where I'll be teaching a workshop called "How to sew on a button and other life skills for recycling your clothes." It will be on Sunday morning.

OOooh, I'm so excited! One of my friends mentioned to me a song we used to sing at camp which talks about how it only takes a spark to get a fire going. I want to thank Sharron May for connecting me to this amazing opportunity! Time now to fan the flames...

{this moment}

Inspired by Amanda Blake Soule at soulemama:

one lovely moment from the week to savor

a revamped playgroup...

These are some of the amazing people who live in my community. We have been gathering together for an Intergenerational Community Circle at Grow Benzie, a new center in our area. Seeing people of all ages come together to play ring around the rosie, sing and laugh together warms my heart with so much love. Toys are simple, natural wood block, play silks, wool balls and animals.

There are also community gardens, and starting soon, a farmer's market and sewing studio.  You'll be hearing plenty more about that soon! Here are a few of my favorite images...